Overview
- The Senate Banking Committee postponed the Jan. 15 markup with no new date, and Chair Tim Scott said negotiations with industry, banks and colleagues are continuing in good faith.
- Coinbase withdrew support, with CEO Brian Armstrong arguing the draft would be worse than the status quo due to curbs on stablecoin rewards, concerns over tokenized securities, DeFi treatment and the SEC–CFTC balance.
- The draft bars paying interest solely for holding stablecoins but allows limited activity‑based rewards, as banking groups warn of potential deposit outflows estimated up to about $6–6.6 trillion and crypto firms warn of offshore migration.
- The Senate Agriculture Committee pushed its own markup to the last week of January, while other industry players including Ripple, a16z, Kraken, Coin Center and the Digital Chamber urged lawmakers to keep the process moving.
- Markets reacted to the delay and division, with Circle shares down nearly 10% and other crypto‑linked stocks lower, as figures like Galaxy’s Mike Novogratz pressed for passage and predicted a compromise on stablecoins.